1. Technical Field
The present application relates generally to detection of a duress situation at a communication or data processing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computing and communication devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and the like, often store sensitive or confidential information. To protect such information, as well as to prevent unauthorized access to functions on the device, the device may be protected with a password, PIN, or other security code or value. To access the device's functions and/or information, the user must provide the security code or value, for example via an input interface provided at the device, and may optionally be required to provide other credentials, such as a digital certificate which may be accessed from a separate smart card or other source. Typically the security code or value is only known to the authorized user; if another party, lacking this information, obtains the device, he or she will not be able to access the functions or information. An attacker seeking to gain access to the communication device may attempt to gain possession of the password by engaging in different methods of password cracking, such as dictionary attacks, or may resort to subterfuge to trick the user into revealing the password. In some circumstances, however, an attacker may use physical force or other coercion to force the authorized user to enter the security code or value on his or her own device within the attacker's presence so that the attacker can gain access to the functions or information.